Overeaters Anonymous?

[MCunningham]

I am trying to find some answers lately with regard to my nearly 40-lb regain this year, trying to find a program that works, trying to figure out what is driving me to overeat so much to begin with, and I ran across the Overeaters Anonymous (OA) website. It has 15 questions to answer to see if you could be in need of OA, and every single question was a "yes" for me-- which means I appear to be a compulsive eater. This isn't 100% news to me, but it's the first time I saw my suspicions confirmed in black and white.

My question would be, have any of you had any experience with this program? Did/does it work? In looking at the program, it looks well laid out, but the one thing that I'm not crazy about in reviewing the materials is all the references to God.

I'm just kind of feeling desperate lately, and rather depressed about my backslide, and I was just wondering if any of you know anything about it from a more personal standpoint.

Anyway, I realize that this may be a touchy subject for some, so if you'd rather not talk about it on here, please feel free to PM me.

Thank you.

MC

 

[Krisztina]

Hi MC,

Yes I went for one OA meeting. It was about 3-4 year ago so my memories are not that fresh.
It was a small group only 4 women participated. It was very similar to the AA meetings. Before they talked they said " Hi, I'm XY and I'm an compulsive overeater". The leader of the meeting was whoever kept the OA diet the longest. They talked about how horrible they felt when they couldn't fit in their sits on the airplane; how people judged them because of their weight and all the miserable memories they had about being overweight.
In the last ten minutes they read few pages from the AA book. And yes, God was in it.
The main principle is just take one day at a time. The diet is very simple, easy to follow but very, very strict.
At the end they asked me if they could share my phone number with others. I didn't really know what to expect so I said yes. About an hour later people from the whole country started to call me. They welcomed me in the program, wised me luck, and insured me about their support for all the time. They said I could call them any time, 24/7. If I feel tempted call them. If I feel low call them. So the support was great but for me overwhelming. My phone rang in every 10 minutes for 2 days. They left me message if I didn't pick it up. So after 2 days I asked them not to call me anymore because I won't do the program. They respected my decision and never called me again.
It was a very interesting 3 days but I don't think I could follow that diet forever.

Krisztina

 

[NRG Woman]

Hi MC,

I also went to OA, but I went for 3 months to really give it a try. My group was not a pushy as Krisztina's group, in fact they were very respectful of me and let me approach them instead of them approaching me. They did not give me a diet to follow, just suggested I follow whatever diet worked best for me. Yes the program was very much like AA in that you are powerless over food and a higher power (whatever that power may be for you) is what will help you overcome your addiction. My group was considered a "step" group, where each week one of the steps was discussed. Each person in the circle would say how this step helped them, but you were completely free to "pass" and not talk if that is what you wanted and it was completely without judgement. It was a good group of people, it just really was not for me. In the end I decided I was not powerless over food, but am in fact a very powerful woman who can do anything I put my mind to (the reality of this situation is that I have poor food habits and allowed my husband too much power in my food choices which is a whole different thread). I was really uncomfortable with how the group had integrated the "powerless" concept into their lives and ultimately felt it was not in my best interest to surround myself with people who were feeling, acting and behaving powerless. Have I lost any weight since then? NO. But I have continued to feel powerful and developed the self love that comes with that. I do feel ready now to make the changes in my life that will bring my body to a healthy resting weight.

Good luck,

Shayne